No precipitation expected today but it is cold. Roger Bossard was laughing this morning that he used almost a ton of diamond dry on the infield yesterday, nearly 100 bags. He and his crew were here at 6:15 am to shovel off much of it and prep the infield for today’s game. It’s one of the reasons he’s recognized as the best in the business.

Stats and Stuff

With 59 runs scored (in only 10 games), we lead the AL, while our .347 OBP ranks second behind Toronto … with a .251 batting average, the team is tied for 9th … our 4.81 ERA is 12th (which surprised me some) … we’ve allowed only four home runs … our .987 fielding percentage is tied for third, and our 17 double plays (15 against the Tigers) are second … our infield defense has been very, very impressive thus far.

Keep Your Arm Up

I spent part of Friday night talking to Bill Pierce. I asked him about mechanics and what keys he used as a pitcher.

“We had Ray Berres, one of the best in the game, as our pitching coach,” Bill told me. “And he wasn’t really big on mechanics. The one thing he always told us was: ‘Keep your arm up. Keep your arm up.’

“Because if you get out and around your curve ball or your slider, it just spins.”

I asked Bill about pitching in cold weather.

“I liked it,” he said. “As a pitcher you can put hot rub on and wear a long-sleeve shirt. Meanwhile hitters were going up there with cold hands. And those sliders in on their hands …”

He smiled and his eyes twinkled.

Honoring JR

Six White Sox coaches and players will wear uniform #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson on Tuesday against Oakland.

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13 Comments

We hear the old adage about teams having to win games on the field and not on paper a lot. This seson so far has really shown that to be true! The Sox, in my opinion, are going to continue to surprise and be in the Central division hunt all the way. Late in the season they will no longer be a surprise. They will be contender!

Hopefully the Sox can take two from the A’s (at least one) and go out to Baltimore and start their collapse as well. Let’s keep the offense coming. Maybe it is time to start looking into extending Crede as he looks healthy. Extend Uribe too while you are at it. I love him at second base.

Scott, this has to be your best post yet. Thank you for posting this incredible pictures. The weather was so lousy down there that night, what a terrific job Ron did with these shots. I daresay there is no team in sports that has devoted these kinds of resources to honor a champion. The monument is astounding.

The OBP has just been awesome so far this year. The patience at the plate has been a huge benefit. That is something that the leadoff hitter influences, and Swisher has done an phenominal job at that. All spring training I was worried about that spot with Owens not being healthy, but the production from Swisher so far makes me wonder where Owens will hit in the order when healthy.

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I was a fan of the Swisher trade from day one, but I did not know all that we would getting from him. The way he plays it seems as if he is an upgraded Aaron Rowand. Obviously, not as good in CF, but a much better and more consistent hitter, and most importantly just as much of gamer as Aaron was. These guys needed some life. As long as he continues to back up his swagger with his solid play he could be the energy that keeps this lineup jacked up to kick some tail everyday.

What awesome pictures! I can’t wait to see it in person. Like everyone else, I am so enjoying this start and the feel for the season so far is SO different from last year. It is a marathon, but the early returns are good. Let’s keep it up!!

These are not your 2007 Chicago White Sox… Those who are saying that this team,at this time,are playing like the 2005 version whom we celebrated this past weekend may just be right…
Chicks may did the long ball, but pitching and defense still win every time out…
To wit, Gavin Floyd’s performance Saturday…
Then yesterday…Vazquez and Thornton, by my count, threw 24 consecutive strikes from the last batter of the top of the 5th inning(after a 1/0 count)through the 8th inning,with only one base runner…In total, the last 4.1 innings for Detroit saw 35 of 40 pitches thrown for strikes,with a grand total of three(count ‘em, three)base runners…
You know who the happiest person was about that?
Don Cooper…because a pitching coach’s job is to tell his hurlers to throw strikes…and they did…
I have a feeling, though, that the next time that the boys see the Tiggers–June 10th…things could be radically different…from the Detroit side of things…

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